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Probably, if there's a Lakers-Boston finals, I'll pass.
Spurs On A Plane!
Probably, if there's a Lakers-Boston finals, I'll pass.
wow
it's probably a likely scenario.
The Express News chimes in.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...e.39733e0.html
Airplane woes force Spurs to spend night on tarmac
By Tom Orsborn
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A mechanical problem that forced the Spurs to spend seven hours on a tarmac in New Orleans early Tuesday morning could result in the defending NBA champions switching charters midway through the Western Conference finals, an NBA source said.
The team's bizarre travel story came seven weeks after Minnesota-based Champion Air, which transports several other NBA teams, including the Lakers, declared bankruptcy and announced it would ground its 16-plane fleet May 31.
But shortly after that announcement, NBA and Champion officials said the Spurs would continue flying the airline through the playoffs or until further notice.
Thanks to what happened in New Orleans, that could come sooner than expected.
Asked if the team, in light of what happened in New Orleans, would consider making a change soon, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “We'd consider walking. I have a feeling (general manager) R.C. (Buford) is on top of it.”
The NBA source said there's a good chance the Spurs could start using another carrier even before Champion ceases operations. Among the candidates, the source said, are a major airline carrier and a well-known charter en y. Northwest, the source said, will be the Spurs' carrier next season.
After beating the Hornets on Monday night to advance to play the Lakers, the Spurs arrived at the New Orleans airport set to fly one of Champion's Boeing 727s immediately to Los Angeles.
But when the mechanical problem came to their attention, the Spurs decided to spend the night in New Orleans while waiting for Champion to fly in another plane from Minneapolis.
With a major convention packing the city's hotels, the team was forced to spend the night on the tarmac until a new plane arrived around 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The team arrived in Los Angeles a few hours later.
All told, the Spurs spent about 11 hours on the plane.
“We got to the plane around midnight or something like that,” Popovich said. “Mechanical problem. No mechanic. Then no plane. Then no hotel. We called about 15 or 20 places, so we spent the evening on the plane. It was eventful, weird.”
This isn't the first time the Spurs have had problems with Champion since it announced bankruptcy. On April 5, what a team spokesman called “minor repairs” delayed a flight from Salt Lake City to Portland, Ore.
According to an examination of Federal Aviation Administration records by the San Antonio Express-News in April, Champion has racked up hundreds of safety and maintenance incidents while running its aged fleet on what the newspaper called a “taunt financial shoestring.”
The Lakers took news of the Spurs' travel nightmare in stride. Asked if he felt for the Spurs, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said, “No. Not at all.”
Said Lakers forward Pau Gasol said, “There is no sympathy. This is not a time for sympathy... No sympathy. No mercy. This is a time to compete.”
That airplane is probably nicer than your trailer!
Last edited by LakerLanny; 05-20-2008 at 11:40 PM.
Money well saved.
Why even ask the opposing team about that? If I was a player and asked a question like that I would basically look at the reporter with a disgusted stare and utter...
"you're really ing stupid"
http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblog...nald_p_11.html
Jeff McDonald: Pop on the plane
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- It has been confirmed that the Spurs have indeed arrived in the Los Angeles area for the Western Conference semifinals.
Coach Gregg Popovich, after a night of travel troubles worse than anything that ever happened to Clark W. Griswold, met with reporters at the team hotel in Santa Monica on Tuesday afternoon.
Typically, this would be an opportunity for reporters to ask questions about the Spurs' next opponent (ie, the Lakers). All we wanted to know about, however, was the night the Spurs spent on the tarmac at New Orleans' Louis Armstrong Airport.
The Spurs couldn't get off the ground after Monday night's Game 7 victory in New Orleans, due to mechanical problem with the plane. They couldn't find proper hotel accommodations in New Orleans, either, because a local convention had them all booked up.
So the Spurs had to spend the night on a grounded plane.
"I just told them we were having a sleepover," Popovich said. "We got out pajamas for everyone."
Few players actually slept. And there's no word yet on what TNT talking heads Marv Albert and Reggie Miller, who were hitching a ride on the flight, thought about the whole situation.
After about seven hours, the charter company, Champion Air, was able to get a replacement plane in from Minneapolis. The Spurs finally left New Orleans around 7 a.m., and arrived in L.A. around 11, local time. Total travel time, including the sleepover: 11 hours.
The incident isn't good news for Champion Air, which was set to go out of business by the end of the month anyway. Asked if the Spurs might consider other alternatives until then, Popovich chuckled and said, "We'd consider walking."
All in all, Popovich seemed in fairly good spirits about the whole episode. At least, he said, the Spurs weren't stranded in New Orleans after a Game 7 loss.
"If it had been a loss, there would have been fighting on the plane," Popovich said. "We would have fought the people who are serving us. We'd have been fighting each other. We'd have been pointing fingers. There would have been deaths on that plane."
Let the excuses begin for the pasting you will get tomorrow
Tony could have gotten beds for everyone at Chris Pauls' house.
Thanks New Orleans
for stepping up when 20 guys from San Antonio needed your help.
This team gets blown out in Games 1,2 and 5, managed to win an exciting Game 7, end up spending the night on the plane and don't get a chance to prep much for the first game of WCF against well rested LA Lakers squad....unbelievable.
Wouldn't it be interesting that with all that has gone on in the last 48 hours, the Spurs manage to win Game 1???!! I doubt it but who knows......
Does anyone have the video to that soundbite by Pop?
The hotels in NO also turned away this famous couple and their infant child...
There's no way that NO couldn't have a found a place to accommodate your team. We all know the city is just bitter after a game 7 lost.
Ah well, good for us.
Hi Spurs fans,
There is a huge convention in New Orleans and that is why there were no hotel rooms.
I guess the Spurs checked out of their hotel rooms before the game and their rooms were given up. ( 17,000 Cable Convention)
If there were hotel rooms available I am sure they would have gotten them.
Didn't you have any room in your hearts?
Still, its better than where the Hornets slept.
I wouldn't worry about it...they didn't practice yesterday (not that they needed it after Game 7 against the Hornets) and I'm sure they got a good night's sleep last night. Do a walkthrough this afternoon and they'll be ready to go. These guys are the CHAMPS...they've been here many times before...they don't need to be told what to do. They just need to go out there tonight and KICK LAKER ASS!!!
Time to avenge .4...GO SPURS GO!!!
A Spurs-owned plane would be as prone to failures as a charter plane from an airline.
If you're concerned about Spurs' cheapness, then be concerned about Spurs maintaining their own plane.
In addition to spending a night in an airplane seat before the series, there is no rest in WCF. Only one day between all 7 games, a trap set by NBA in case the Spurs would reach WCF.
Next year Spurs will use Northwest and flight in A319.
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/119724
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